Discussions regarding a new city hall continued Monday night at the Mexico City Council meeting.

At the previous March 9 meeting, council members rejected a bill tied to preparations that would turn the existing Audrain Medical Cancer Center into the new City Hall and Public Safety Department. After the meeting, community members in attendance had mixed feelings about the council’s decision and some shared them during public comments.

Donna Corrado, president of the Audrain Regional Medical Center Board of Directors, expressed her support for the decision at the meeting as well as in a March 14 letter that was addressed to the City Council.

In the letter, Corrado asked the city council for a two-month hold on any decisions involving the use of the Cancer Center for a city hall and expressed that the board would like to revisit the possibility of making the building an interim medical facility. She requested the mechanical, engineering and plumbing reports for 620 E. Monroe and asked that the board be granted admission to the site with an independent architect, mechanical engineering and plumbing group.

Corrado also asked if the planning and zoning commission, as well as city officials, has surveyed neighbors adjacent to the Audrain Medical Center campus regarding the proposed changes.

“We support a new city hall/public safety, however our priorities continue to be an interim hospital and emergency services,” she said in the letter. “We have stopped waiting.”

But the City of Mexico has also been waiting — planning and saving money for a new City Hall for over a decade.

“The need for a new city hall is real,” Bruce Slagle, City manager, said. There were three options for Mexico City Hall and Mexico Public Safety Department improvements.

At the city council meeting on Dec. 22, 2025, Navigate Building Solutions presented a phase 2 feasibility report that included the estimated costs for three options to improve city hall and public safety: renovating the Cancer Center, constructing a new two-story building or constructing a new one-story building and renovating the current city hall.

“Council heard a presentation on these options and provided feedback not to pursue renovation of the current building, and due to the cost of a new building, pursue the Cancer Center option,” Slagle said in the March 9 meeting.

Cost breakdown

According to the program budgets for all three options, $187,000 was budgeted for furniture, fixtures and equipment assuming the reuse of some existing furniture; $50,000 was budgeted for financing with property acquisition excluded; and $53,500 was budgeted for miscellaneous costs that could include moving costs, printing and advertising.

The renovation of the cancer center will include the use of the existing building along E. Monroe St. with the construction of an apparatus bay for the fire department and a sally port for the secure transport of detainees attached to the portion of the building that runs parallel with Hord Street.

The total estimated cost of renovating the Cancer Center is $12,830,900. The total program budget from Navigate Building Solutions provides the following breakdown of costs:

• $9,924,200 for construction contracts, which accounts for a 6% escalation and 10% contingency
• $2,500 for special construction, or permits in this case
• $187,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment
• $1,524,700 for professional services, which includes design fees and project management
• $478,000 for technology
• $50,000 for financing
• $53,500 for miscellaneous costs
• $611,000 for a 5% project contingency

According to previous reporting, option two, a new two-story construction, would allocate 11,700 square feet to a new city hall and 13,700 square feet to public safety with an additional 4,550 square feet for an apparatus bay and a 600 square foot sally port. This plan also includes the demolition of the existing city hall and the construction of a new parking lot.

The total estimated cost of the new construction is $18,742,354. The total program budget provides the following breakdown of costs:

• $14,995,623 for construction contracts, which accounts for a 6% escalation and 10% contingency
• $77,500 for special construction – hazardous material abatement and permits
• $187,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment
• $2,008,238 for professional services, which includes design fees and project management
• $478,000 for technology
• $50,000 for financing
• $53,500 for miscellaneous costs
• $892,493 for a 5% project contingency

Option three includes a new, one-story construction for public safety and the renovation of the existing city hall. Renovating City Hall would include new IT wiring and infrastructure as well as all new plumbing and HVAC systems.

The total estimated cost of the new construction for public safety and the renovation of City Hall is $18,663,727. The total program budget provides the following breakdown of costs:

• $14,573,288 for construction contracts, which accounts for a 6% escalation and 15% contingency
• $77,500 for special construction – hazardous material abatement and permits
• $187,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment
• $2,330,691 for professional services, which includes design fees and project management
• $503,000 for technology
• $50,000 for financing
• $53,500 for miscellaneous costs
• $888,749 for a 5% project contingency

“By using the former Cancer Center, it saves tax dollars by not demolishing the building,” Slagle said. “It is not only financially beneficial, but it is also environmentally responsible by keeping a good structure intact and out of the landfill. Furthermore, it saves the residents of the City of Mexico nearly $6 million.”